Kōsei, Kaori, Tsubaki and Ryōta rush to the concert hall on bikes, making it on time before the second round of the preliminaries begins. In the hallway of the venue, Kaori headbutts Kōsei to calm down his nerves and tells him not to worry, all before they are called up on stage and begin their musical journey together. Although they start off the set piece slowly and quietly, the tempo increases and the playing style intensifies. Kōsei begins to feel trapped at the bottom of an ocean, unable to hear the sound of the piano. His accompaniment eventually spins out of control, and he suddenly stops playing, stirring confusion from the audience. Kaori continues playing for a while, but she stops as well and says to him to do it again. She resumes playing the set piece, and he gains the confidence to start accompanying again, as he draws out his fears. As they finish performing, they get a standing ovation from the audience, but Kaori faints on the stage soon after.